A Real Husband and Wife
by Kat-of-the-Streets
Summary: A story about how Robert and Cora became what they are.
1. Chapter 1

Sorry for not posting anything in such a long time, but there were technical difficulties. I also couldn't review every story I read and I am sorry for that as well and I'll try to make up for that as soon as possible.

This is my second attempt at an early piece within a rather short time, but I just wish we knew more about the beginnings for Robert and Cora's marriage.

Please let me know what you think!

Kat

* * *

They have been married for seven months now and she isn't happy. She married a man she loved, she still loves him, but he doesn't love her back and it breaks her heart. She thought she would have been able to deal with this, because she loved him, because she knew that he liked her, not in a romantic way, but as a friend. While not perfect, she had thought that this would have been a good starting point. The trouble is that he doesn't even seem to like her anymore, not even like a friend, and no matter how hard she tries, she cannot fall out of love with him.

Dinner that night is horrible. Robert must have had a fight with both his parents during the day and they don't speak to each other. His mother makes pointed remarks at them for not having conceived a child yet, while his father does nothing to defend them. Robert keeps shooting both of his parents glances that would make her want to hide somewhere in the stables. Although she has to admit that Robert has never looked at her like that.

He goes upstairs early and she follows him. She is almost sure that he wanted to be alone but she is his wife and she wants to help, she just wants him to feel a little better. So she knocks on his door that leads to the hallway. He opens it and barks "What do you want?" at her. She feels taken aback but the moment he sees her, the look on his face softens somewhat. "Oh, Cora, I'm sorry. I thought it was my parents. I didn't want to yell at you like that."

"It's all right," she says. And it really is. He needs to let go of his anger and if he needs to let it out on her, she will be able to deal with it. So she steps into his room without having been invited.

"Cora, I'd much rather be alone," he says.

"I know," she replies. "But I think it would be better if you talked to me." His room is dark and makes her claustrophobic, so she takes his hand and without saying a word leads him through to her room, which is much brighter and warmer. She is a little surprised that he doesn't object, but maybe he is too tired to argue with her too. "Sit in the chair," she says and indicates a comfortable armchair with a footrest in front of it. She goes back into his room and gets his favorite scotch and two glasses. She fills them both and hands one of them to her husband who takes it. "Thank you," he says and finishes the drink in one go. She refills his glass wordlessly and smiles at him. "Take of your tails and bow tie. You'll be much more comfortable," she says to him and takes the pins out of her hair. She feels him watching her but he does as she said. "And your shoes," she adds while she takes off her own shoes, gloves and jewelry, except for her wedding ring. Again, he does as he is told, and she knows he does so because he is too tired to argue and probably too thankful for her having provided him with the much needed drinks.

She walks over to the chair he is sitting in, sits down on the footrest, takes his left foot onto her lap and begins to massage it without saying a word. He looks at her flabbergasted but she only smiles at him faintly and he closes his eyes and leans back into the chair. She eventually moves on to his right food and says

"Talk to me."

"About what?"

"Your troubles."

"My troubles? You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"You are a woman."

"That is a correct observation. I am glad you've noticed."

"How could anyone not notice that?"

"I don't know. But that is not what is troubling you."

"No. It is my father."

"Tell me. I may be a woman, but I do have a difficult father. And brother. And mother. So I might understand."

"I don't know if I should tell you."

"Why not?"

"I don't know if I can."

"I am your wife. You should be able to tell me anything."

"If we were a real husband and wife, I would be." Robert has now hurt her more than ever before, but she doesn't say anything and hides her disappointment because this is not about her.

"Robert, whatever you tell me in this room will stay in this room. I promise. And it might be easier to deal with once you've talked to someone."

He looks at her calculatingly but then begins to talk. He tells her about how his father wants to throw the widow of a tenant off the estate because she can't pay her rent, how that woman has two very young children and is not able to do all the work, how he thinks they should be lenient and how his father dismisses his thoughts as that of 'an inexperienced dreamer'. He talks about how the agent of the estate dismisses every idea he has concerning the modernization of the estate and how he is afraid that Downton might be mismanaged. He tells her that he looked through the books and that the numbers made him dizzy and that he had ideas on how to make improvements and save money at the same time. He tells her how both his father and the agent laughed about his ideas and called him 'too young to understand anything'. He tells her how he told his father that he should be allowed to make the decisions because it was his money they were wasting as he was the one who had to marry the money to safe the estate. He tells her how he talked to his mother about this because he thought that she would be on his side, but she wasn't, she only told him that she still thought he made a mistake in his marriage. He tells her how his father came into the room at the exact moment his mother told him that and how they both scolded him like a little schoolboy then for thinking that he had any idea of how to run an estate. He tells her how he thinks that those accusations are wrong and how he thinks that he actually does know quite a lot about running an estate, how he doesn't understand his father treating him like schoolboy who really doesn't know anything after having groomed him for his role for all his life. He tells her how he feels pressured by both his parents to finally produce an heir and how he feels like failure to her because so far it hasn't happened. She listens to all of this without saying a word because she knows he needs to get it off his chest.

When he stops talking she takes his feet of the footrest, slides onto the ground herself and takes her hands in his.

"Robert, before we talk about anything else, let me say this: You are not a failure to me. I am not pregnant yet, that is true, but it really doesn't matter. We have twenty years ahead of us to have children. They will come along when they do. Putting pressure onto ourselves won't be helpful. Don't worry about that." He smiles at her and she can see relief and thankfulness in that smile.

"Now let's talk about the other things. You are right about the farmer's widow, she can't be told to leave the estate. How is she supposed to do all her work with infants? And where would she be supposed to go? I'll tell your father you are right."

"That won't make a difference."

"Maybe it will. I will remind him that it is my money that is keeping this estate running. And I will also tell him that without modernization my parents would never have made enough money to save this estate."

"That is rather cheeky."

"Maybe. But maybe your parents need some cheekiness, Robert. You've been a very dutiful son so far. You've done everything they asked of you, from what I gather for your whole life. You even married a woman you didn't love, tied yourself to her for the rest of her life, to get her money to safe the estate. And still they don't take you seriously, still they complain. Robert, there is nothing you can do except fight for what you believe is right. And if you want a chance to win some of those fights, you'll need an ally. And you have that ally in me."

"That will not endear you to them."

"Probably not. But I don't care about that, Robert. I care about what's right and I care about you." Robert remains quiet for a minute but then says.

You are still in love with me, aren't you?" She thinks about lying for a second but then decides that that would probably be even more painful than the truth.

"Yes, I can't deny it. But that is not why I am on your side. I am on your side because you are right in every aspect you have told me about. And they all amount to the same fact: You are an adult and your parents have to learn to accept that and to accept you as their equal. And I am saying that regardless of my feelings for you. Although I have been trying to fall out of love with for quite some time now." There is a flicker across his face she can't place. He doesn't say anything for a few minutes and she keeps holding his hands, running her thumbs over the insides of them. He leans back into the chair and then says

"Cora?"

"Hm?"

"Don't try too hard. Please."

Her insides perform a somersault at this but she doesn't dare to say anything.

"We should go to bed" he eventually says.

"Yes. I'll ring for my maid," she says and gets up.

"Don't," he says and looks at her. "I know you don't like her. I'll help you. If you tell me what to do, I'm sure I can get you out of your clothes."

His words put her into a trance and she only nods. He walks over to her and she guides him through opening all the buttons and hooks on her clothes and corset. Once all she has left on are her undergarments he says "I think you can take it from here. I'll go to bed. Goodnight." She doesn't answer anything because tears run down her face the moment the words are out of her husband's mouth. She has never felt so defeated. But she knew what was she getting herself into and therefore she doesn't think that she has any right to be sad, so she swallows once when she hears him close the door, finishes getting changed into her night clothes and lies down on her bed. She can hear Robert talk to his valet next door and she gets jealous because she thinks that she should be the one Robert talks to so late at night. When she is already half asleep she hears the door open again.

"Cora, are you still awake?" her husband asks her.

"Yes," she says, sits up and turns on the light on her night stand again.

"Good. Because I forgot something."

"What did you forget?"

She watches her husband walk towards her and sit down on the bed, impossibly close to her.

"This," he says and kisses her in a way he has never kissed before. When he breaks the kiss he leans his forehead against hers and says "Don't fall out of love with me, Cora. Please don't."

She shakes her head and puts her hands into his hair. "Stay the night, Robert." She wants him to stay with her more than anything in that moment, it is all that matters to her.

"Cora, I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I will have to get up in four hours and I am incredibly tired as it is."

"Sleep here. Please." She knows she's begging but she wants him to so much, it's what she has wanted since the day she fell in love with him, which had been weeks before his proposal and months before their wedding.

"Why?" he asks in a husky voice.

"Because I want you to. I need you to." He looks into her eyes and she almost melts under his gaze. He has never looked at her like that. He gives her another kiss, climbs over her and lies down on the bed next to her.

"Get under the covers, Robert," she says and smiles at the slightly dumbstruck look on her husband's face. She lies down next to him and he touches her face.

"Cora, I, thank you. Thank you for the way you care about me. And for being on my side."

"You're welcome," she says, takes his hand in hers and falls asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you so much for the reviews!

Happy Easter to all of you!

Kat

* * *

After lunch the next day she looks for her father-in-law and finds him in the library by himself.

"Patrick," she says. She has always called him Lord Grantham until this moment, although he had offered her to call him Patrick before. She never felt comfortable saying it, but now she needs him to realize that she is his equal.

"Cora, how can I help?"

"Robert told me about that farmer's widow with the two children. I was wondering what your plans were for the family."

"Make them leave the estate of course. She hasn't paid the rent for months now and we can neither afford nor tolerate that. She is wasting our money."

"She is 'wasting' my money, as you put it. And I doubt that being lenient with a recently widowed farmer's wife is a waste of money. Don't you think that she and her children would be very grateful and loyal later on if we cut them some slack now?"

"If we what?"

"If we didn't ask them to leave now, gave her more time. Make her grateful and help her at the same time. It's a win-win situation, isn't it?"

"It costs too much money."

"Money that you could easily safe if you actually took Robert's advice."

"What advice?"

"Concerning the modernization."

"We don't need that here. Robert is a boy with dreams."

"No. He is a man with visions."

"Cora, I know you are head over heels for him. But fighting his cause now won't make him love you. So don't get involved."

"This has nothing to do with my personal feelings for Robert. But it has a lot to do with you not accepting him as your equal. And that is something that you should do. He is right about the modernization. There can't be progress without it. But if we don't make progress and others do, where will that leave us?"

"Even if what you say were true, we still have enough money to compensate for some losses."

"Because I bailed you out. And what will you do in twenty years' time? Make your next heir marry the next foreign heiress? That is not a very good business model."

"This is not a business, this is an estate."

"An estate you need to think of in terms of a rather large business. I am not saying you should disregard the history and social importance of the estate. But you have to move forward. And Robert has ideas on how to do that. Listen to him and take him seriously."

"I'll think about it."

"Thank you. I have to leave now, I have to pay some social calls."

"Enjoy yourself. And behave well." She almost explodes at that comment. But she only turns around and says

"Patrick, I am not a child. And neither is Robert. You would do well to remember that."

Dinner that night is once again horrible. While she actually did behave impeccably during her social calls with her mother-in-law, it is obvious that Patrick has told his wife about their conversation and she does not seem to be impressed. Complains about America and the lack of an heir are lifted unto a new height. Patrick tells them to go upstairs after dinner and enjoy their free time and Robert says 'Thank you', but she cannot accept that.

"Patrick, you can't dismiss us like children. We can be where ever we want to be in this house and on this estate."

"Don't tell your father-in-law what he can do and cannot do, Cora." She expected that answer and wants to reply something but her father-in-law answers instead "She is right Violet. They are adults, we have to accept that. So, you are welcome to stay but you don't have to. Do what you want to do."

"Let's go for a walk then," Robert says and takes her hand. He leads her outside and doesn't let go of her hand until they are out of the door, where he offers her his arm. She takes his arm and on a whim doesn't only put her arm through his but actually holds onto him. He smiles at her in return.

"Thank you," he says. "For talking to my father. I heard what you said, I couldn't help but listen. It was very courageous. I wouldn't have dared to say it that way, but I am very, very glad you did it. I am so thankful to have you on my side. To finally have an ally."

"You are very welcome. And I really do believe in your ideas." He smiles at her again and his smile causes the butterflies in her stomach to wake up again.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Nowhere in particular. I just want to be alone with you." She holds on tighter to him now and they keep on walking across the estate. She has no idea how long they are outside but it is getting dark and it is early June so they must have been outside together for quite some time. They have talked the whole time, about their childhoods, about what they thought their lives would be like when they were younger and about all sorts of trifles. Robert eventually steers them back to the house and when they go back inside, the butler tells them that Lord and Lady Grantham have already gone to bed. Robert turns to her and smiles and then orders a bottle of her favorite wine to be brought into the library, where he serves them both. "To us," he says when he toasts to her and she smiles at him with what she hopes is a nice smile. They keep on drinking, in fact they empty the bottle in a rather short time and once he has finished his third glass, Robert steps towards her and whispers "you have got a brilliantly, wonderfully beautiful smile. You are a brilliantly, wonderfully beautiful woman and you have no idea how much I want you right now." Her knees go weak at this, but Robert holds onto her and she kisses him without restraint, putting all her desire for him into that one kiss. He takes her upstairs, stopping to kiss her every few steps. He pulls her into her bedroom, not to do his duty, but to do so much more, something she always hoped but never thought would happen.

When she finds herself lying in his arms a while later she can't help but cry. Robert tightens his grip on her and asks why she is crying. She tells him that she is happy that they finally seem to have come over the awkwardness between them and that she thinks that this will make their lives much easier, concerning every aspect of their lives.

"I'd be glad if you were right," he says. "I think you are. I feel much closer to you now. Compared to yesterday afternoon. It's amazing how fast things change sometimes."

"Fast?" she asks incredulously. "It has taken seven months."

"I am sorry about that. Maybe I should have trusted you sooner. Not that I didn't trust you, but what I mean is, maybe I should have trusted you with my troubles as you put it sooner. Maybe I should have trusted your ability to make my life better a lot sooner."

"I wish you had. It would have made my life a lot better too." He looks at her as if to say 'how?' and without him asking, she begins to tell him how she has felt the past seven months. How happy she had been for the first few weeks of their marriage when she had been sure that he would fall in love with her too, how much it had hurt when she realized that it wouldn't happen. How she has struggled to live up to his and more than that his parents' expectations of her. How she is afraid of making a mistake almost every waking moment because she doesn't want to upset his parents and because she wants to show him that even if he did not marry a woman he loves he at least married a woman he doesn't have to be ashamed of. How her parents keep pestering her about an heir as much as his, how this makes her dread every letter from them. How she misses her friends in America, how she has the feelings that she doesn't have a single friend in England. How she has the feeling that she is the laughing stock of society, because opposed to the other American heiresses who married into the English aristocracy, she was stupid enough to not get the best bargain, because for her, Robert had not been the best bargain. She tells him how the Duke of Suffolk proposed to her and how she refused him because she was waiting for Robert to propose, how furious both her parents got when they found out about that. How relieved she was when Robert finally did propose but how sad it made her when it wasn't romantic but rather an offer for a business transaction. How she sometimes feels that she is nothing more than something unpleasant that has to be dealt with so that the estate could be saved and how she feels superfluous nine and a half days out of ten. How she sometimes wishes she could go back to America, but how she knows she can't, at least not until she has produced an heir and how she knows that once she has a child at Downton she will never be able to go back to America because she wouldn't be able to leave a child behind.

She has looked away from Robert while talking, but know she looks at him and she sees more sorrowfulness on his face than she has ever seen there before.

"I am sorry," he says, "for having been such a horrible husband. I wish I had known how you felt, I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me all of this. Because with some things I might be able to help."

"How?" She doubts that he can help, because the only thing that would really help would be if Robert told her that he loved her and was telling her truth when he did and although there is a part of her mind that tells her that Robert's asking her not to fall out of love with him probably means that he is about to fall in love with her, she doesn't dare to hope for the fear of being disappointed.

"I have to think about it," he says. "But you've helped me and I don't think you have any idea how much, and I want to help you."

They don't say another word, but she falls asleep in her husband's arms for the first time in her life and although she wakes up with a piercing pain in her neck in the middle of the night because of having slept on his shoulder for hours, it makes her happier than she could ever hope to be. Or so she thought until she moves away from Robert because she knows she can't keep on sleeping in the same position. The moment she makes to move out of Robert's arms, he tightens his grip around her and says "Darling, stay." So she puts her head back on his shoulder, tears of joy running down her face. She knows that Robert won't remember this in the morning, but the fact that he wants her to sleep close to him, even if only subconsciously, makes her even happier than she had been only half a minute earlier. But once she has put her head on his shoulder again, she realizes that there is no way she can fall asleep like this again.

"Robert?" she asks and he says "I'm asleep."

"And I am awake."

"Does that mean I have to be awake too?"

"No. But you have to let go of me because I can't go on sleeping like this. My neck is killing me. I need to lie down on a pillow and I also need to turn around or I won't be able to move for weeks."

"All right," he mumbles and lets go of her.

She moves over to her side of the bed, turns around and lies down. Before she has moved into a comfortable position, she feels Robert moving closer to her and putting his arm around her again.

"Good night," he mumbles and begins to snore softly.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Thank you for the reviews on the last chapters! You rock!

Kat

* * *

Over the course of the next two weeks, she gets the feeling that Robert seems to have forgotten that there is a bed in his dressing room because he never sleeps there anymore. They don't fall asleep holding onto each other every night, but they fall asleep next to each other every night and they never fall asleep without having talked to each other first. She slowly realizes that talking to Robert at night has become the most important feature of her days, that she starts to think 'I'll talk to Robert about it', whenever there is something that doesn't go well or makes her uncomfortable. The same is true for things that go extremely well. He seems to feel the same and she will never forget the look of pride on his face when he told her that his father had given into him, into them really, and both allowed the widow to stay and agreed to at least some of Robert's modernization plans.

She sits in bed, having breakfast one morning when she hears Robert outside her room, talking to her lady's maid.

"Is Lady Downton awake?"

"Yes, she is having breakfast."

"Thank you."

Robert opens the door without knocking and she has to laugh about that.

"What are you laughing about?"

"That you didn't knock on the door. The maid will have gotten the shock of her life."

"I never knock on your door."

"No Robert, you never knock on the door between our rooms and you don't have to. But when you enter the room from the outside you should probably knock. At least if someone else is around."

"If you think so, I'll try to remember."

"Which means you won't."

"Probably not. I came to bring your letters to you."

"That is very nice of you. Thank you."

She takes the letters and there is one from another American heiress who married into the English aristocracy and a letter from her father. She opens that one first because she knows that while she doesn't particularly like this other American, the letter won't be as condescending as the one her father has sent her and she just wants to get reading how she is failure to her family over with. She opens the letter and begins to read.

_My dear daughter, _

_How are you? We are all doing well, although your mother keeps driving your brother up the wall with her matchmaking plans for him. But you know your brother too well to not know that he won't ever give in. He is the opposite of what you'd call a dutiful child, which means that he is the opposite of what you are. _

_Both your mother and I owe you an apology for the letters we have written to you previously. They were condescending, unnecessary, and undeserved. You've done all we asked of you and we really can't fault you for having chosen a man you like over one you do not like, even if the one you didn't chose would have been the better bargain in terms of what we got for our money. But I am ashamed that both your mother I forgot that we were not only buying a title for the family, we were, for lack of a better word, also exchanging you for the title and we should have considered your feelings a lot more than we did. I've told your mother to stop pestering you about an heir, we knew that there would be a possibility that you would never have one, and you are not yet 21, so there is nothing to worry about. Again Cora, I am very sorry for how we've treated you these past months and especially for making you dread our letters. _

_Before I say goodbye, let me give credit to where it belongs: You may wonder where our sudden epiphany stems from and it is not from your brother's antics or self-reflection, as ashamed as I am of that fact. Your Robert wrote to both your mother and I, telling us how you felt and he asked us in no uncertain terms to accept the choices you have made, to wait for a grandchild patiently without pestering either one of you and to not dare to complain should you never have son. I am sure that had he been here, he would have yelled at us, something that endears him to me a lot. _

_Your mother sends her love,_

_Your Father_

She can't believe what she has just read.

"You sent letters to my parents, telling them how I felt?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because I want you to be happy. And because you stood up to my parents for me."

"Robert, I,"

"If I shouldn't have done it, I 'm sorry, I thought it might help."

"Robert that is the nicest, most considerate thing anyone has ever done for me."

He smiles at her now and sits down next to her.

"I love you," she says and he kisses her in reply.

"As little as I want to, I have to leave you know. I won't be back before dinner," he says after the kiss. She keeps her eyes on his back while he leaves her room and when he turns around again before he opens the door, she smiles at him and he smiles back at her. She looks at her father's letter and stumbles across the words 'your Robert' and wonders whether he ever really will truly be hers.

Robert told her that he would not be back before dinner so she doesn't expect to see him before going downstairs and is rather surprised when he walks into her own room rather unceremoniously and without knocking before she is even ready to go downstairs. She smiles at him and he smiles back at her and to say her lady's maid was shocked would be the understatement of the year. She sends her lady's maid away as soon as she is done and then breaks into laughter.

"Robert," she says once she has calmed down. "You know she will tell your mother about this."

"She has already told my mother that I sleep here every night and surprisingly my mother didn't mind too much. She only told me to keep the bed made up in my room to keep up appearances."

"You know why she doesn't mind you sleeping in here. She thinks it will speed things up."

"I don't care why she doesn't mind, to be honest; I don't care if she minds at all because I am not a child anymore. You were right about that. And if she is scandalized by the fact that I walk into my own wife's room without knocking, then there is nothing I can do about it."

"The servants will talk. Talk will reach the village."

"So the people in the village will talk about the future Earl of Grantham being happily married. What a scandal."

"Are you Robert? Are you happily married?"

"I think so. And I hope that you will be too in the not too distant future."

"I am not unhappy, don't think that. I used to be, but I am not anymore."

"I am very glad to hear that." And with that he leads her downstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Thank you so much for the reviews!

A large part of this chapter is written in dialogue form, I hope that is alright.

Let me know what you think.

Kat

* * *

They have been invited to a 'Winter Ball' given by some of their neighbors and she looks forward to it, even if it won't be even close to as exciting as the balls during the season in London. The ball is preceded by dinner and the usual separation of the men and women and Cora wonders if she will get to dance with her husband at all, because there are two of his friends from school and her husband has already warned her that he might be caught up in talking to them. She told him she didn't mind, she thought she wouldn't and she thinks that Robert deserves to be with his friends from time to time, he is with her every day after all, but the women around her bother her and she has already danced three dances with men she didn't know, and only one of them behaved well. So she goes in search for Robert and she hears his voice floating out the dining room. She wonders if she is allowed to go in there and to get him and decides that it doesn't really matter as there are mostly young people at the ball who would only laugh about her 'American antics' if they took note of a faux pas on her side at all. Right before she goes into the room she realizes that Robert is there with only one of his friends and that they are obviously talking about her and they are both rather drunk.

"Cora."

"It's a nice name."

"She's a nice woman."

"Well, many say you made the catch of the season."

"I probably did."

"Is it true that she was worth more than half a million?"

"Yes."

"She could have had a Duke for that had she waited long enough."

"She actually refused a Duke."

"Why would she do something so foolish?"

"She wanted me."

"That must be a joke."

"It isn't. She told me. She rejected the duke much to her parents chagrin and then accepted me."

"And you believe that?"

"Of course I do."

"She's lying. She only told you that so that you wouldn't wait too long with your proposal."

"She only told me a few weeks ago, so it had nothing to do with my proposal."

"You talk to her about things like that."

"Yes. Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

"She's your wife."

"I know. That's why I talk to her about personal matters."

"Her personal matters. It's because she is American, I presume."

"Her American upbringing certainly makes it easier for her to talk about personal matters, but we don't only talk about her personal matters. We also talk about mine."

"You, Robert Crawley, future Earl of Grantham, talk about personal matters to some random American when you never talk about anything personal to your friends."

"I don't talk to some random American. I talk to my wife, who happens to be American, there's a difference."

"Well, I suppose you got to give her something for all that money."

"I don't talk to her because of her money. I talk to her because, I don't know why. I just do. I trust her, I suppose."

"A woman worth more than half a million pounds and you can trust her. You really did make the catch of the season."

"Marrying her certainly was a good decision."

"So you aren't angry with your parents anymore, for forcing you to get married."

"No. And I was never really angry at them. It was my duty. We needed cash and a lot of it and fast, so me marrying a woman with a large inheritance or dowry was the only solution and thus I had to do it."

"That doesn't seem to bother you at all."

"It does bother me. I am rather ashamed of having pursued Cora for her money."

"What else should you have her pursued her for?"

"Her heart. She's given it to me freely, but I should have had to fight for it."

"She's in love with you on top of everything else? Are you are sure she isn't faking it?"

"Yes. I am sure she loves me. She told me and she wouldn't lie about something like that."

"What is it like, being with someone who loves you?"

"It used to be suffocating. Knowing she loved me, wanting me to feel the same for her."

"It used to be? That must mean it isn't suffocating anymore."

"No, it isn't."

"What changed?"

"What do you think changed?"

"You love her too."

"Not yet. But I think about her when I fall asleep and when I wake up, although that might be because I always sleep next to her."

"Your wife lets you come to her room every night?"

"I sleep in there every night. I really use my dressing room only for getting dressed."

"Do you do it every night?"

"No, not every night."

"How often?"

"I don't count it. It happens when it happens."

"So it isn't a duty for you?"

"No and it isn't for her either."

"I wish I knew what that was like. My wife lies back and thinks of England and only when I tell her to."

"Cora certainly doesn't think of England. And before you make a very inappropriate joke, she doesn't think of America either."

"So she actually wants to do it."

"She initiates it half the time, so I suppose so."

She wonders how much alcohol Robert must have drunk to talk about such matters. Quite beside the fact that he has talked about his feelings rather freely to this man, she never would have thought him to kiss and tell. But then, he sounded rather proud and both he and that friend in the dining room are so drunk that they probably won't remember any of the conversation in the morning.

"What's that like?"

"Mind blowing. But it always is. With her, I mean. Although I wouldn't know what it would be like with someone else. I don't want to know and I will never find out because she's the only one for me, and she will always be."

It makes her smile and a shiver run down her spine. She of course knew that Robert did not have a mistress, he spends too much time with her for that and he just doesn't seem to be the kind of man to have a mistress as long as there is a chance for love or even contentment in his marriage. But he has now almost declared himself to be in love with her, even if he didn't say it out loud and he was relatively drunk. She decides to leave Robert and his friend be and returns to the other guests at the party. She dances a few more dances but the later it gets, the more uninhibited her dancing partners become and she does not enjoy their attentions. So she decides to go to bed and wants to tell Robert and when she gets to the dining room, she finds him and his friend asleep, Robert with his head on the table, resting on his arms. She gently shakes him awake and convinces him to come upstairs with her. She wants to bring him to his room, just in case he needs to stay in bed the next morning, but when he realizes what she is doing, he says

"Cora, no. Don't leave me. Please. Take me with you." So she takes him with her, helps him undress and put on his pajamas and then leads him to their bed. Once he is in bed, she takes a glass of water from her nightstand and talks Robert into drinking it. And then makes him drink a second glass of water. She then gives him aspirin powder as well and lets him go to sleep. Because she knows her husband cannot hold his liquor, she goes in search of a bucket or similar and in the end decides on an ugly vase she hopes wasn't too expensive. Robert likes his Scotch but he hardly ever gets drunk. She has seen him drunk only twice before, but that was enough for her to know that he will feel very bad in a few hours. So she gets herself ready for bed without ringing for her lady's maid because how could she with her drunk husband lying in her bed?

She wakes up when she hears Robert throwing up two hours later and she moves closer to him and holds his forehead to make it easier for him. She then gets him to drink more water and waits for him to fall asleep again. They go through this routine several more times and after the third time, Robert looks at her and says a hoarse "Thank you" before falling asleep again.

The next time he wakes only half an hour later and stays awake.

"I don't feel as bad as I usually do after overindulgence," he says to her and she smiles at him.

"You said you might get drunk with your friends so I took a few precautions. My father is not a drunkard, but he gets drunk from time to time and he can't hold his liquor either. So I have a good idea of how to help. I took some aspirin along and asked for an extra jug of water last night."

He rewards her with a true smile and squeeze of her hand.

"Why are you doing this? Why did you not bring me to my room and ring for my valet? This is not a job for a viscountess." This makes her laugh.

"Maybe not. But it is a job for your wife. I don't mind Robert, I truly don't. You spend so much time with me, I cannot begrudge you getting drunk with your school friends twice a year. I'd get mad if you got drunk often, but you hardly ever do. And I don't want you to suffer."

Robert looks at her, completely taken aback and then says "You are an incredible woman and a wonderful wife. I don't know what I've done to deserve you, but I thank God for you every day." She moves closer to him and puts her head on his shoulder.

"I am glad you feel this way," she whispers and feels Robert put his arm around her. "I love you," she whispers into his shoulder and he kisses her head in reply.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: This is the last part of this story. It is a lot shorter than the other ones, but I hope you like it anyway :)

Kat

* * *

A week later she wakes up early in the morning and makes it to her bathroom just in time before the contents of her stomach empty themselves into her wash basin. It doesn't stop for the rest of the day and although Robert hates everything to do with illness, he stays with her and helps just the way she helped him. The next day she feels even worse and because now she is also very dizzy, the doctor is called. He sure that she caught a stomach bug and says the illness should pass within the next few days. But when it doesn't a very worried Robert insists on calling the doctor again. While they are waiting for the physician to arrive, Robert sits down next to her and takes her hand in his.

"I hope you aren't seriously ill," he says.

She shakes her head which almost causes her to throw up again.

"I'd be devastated if you," he says but then his voice trails of. She turns to him and the expression on his face is one she has never seen there before, not in this intensity. He looks into her eyes and very slowly his lips curve into a smile, a smile so gently and loving that she knows what he is going to say before he says it.

"I love you," he says and then leans forward and captures her lips in a kiss. "I love you," he repeats and leans his forehead against hers. She begins to cry, something that happens to her rather easily because of her illness, and Robert takes her face between his hands.

"Cora," he says in a way he has only ever said it before right after their love-making and looks into her eyes again.

"Yes?" she asks and again he smiles at her.

"I only realized it now, but I am sure that I have loved you for quite some time. Please believe that."

"I do," she whispers and he smiles again. She knows it to be true. He asked her not to fall out of love with him, somewhere deep down he must have known that he loved her too.

"I want you to know, I need you to know that what is very likely happening to you right now is a result of my love for you, our mutual love for each other, not the outcome of a duty."

"What?" She doesn't know what he is talking about, but when she looks at him again, he makes her heart melt with just his eyes.

"I think you are pregnant. We've not had any interruptions for much longer than four weeks and the symptoms are fitting."

She wants to lean forward and kiss him again because the moment Robert voiced his suspicion she knew him to be right. It has in fact been more than eight weeks, she just did not think about it, she didn't really notice it. But just before their lips meet, her lady's maid enters with the doctor in tow. The diagnosis he gives her after examining her does not surprise her and when the doctor and her maid leave and Robert enters their room again and sits down next to her, she looks into his eyes, smiles and says

"You were right. We are having a baby."

Seven months later she watches as Robert takes Mary from her for the first time and she sees how overwhelmed he is with the love he feels for their little daughter. A love she feels just as strongly. He turns to her and kisses her on the lips and she is happier than she ever thought she could be.


End file.
